Shattering the Heart
I crushed the Heart—and in the end, this is how it turned out? Kneeling on the ground, I stared blankly at the nightmare unfolding before me. Bell's signal was still picking up, but there was no response. She must have been knocked into system shutdown from shock and damage way beyond what we'd anticipated. And my master was in the same boat.
"Ah, damn. The boss told me to grab that scrap heap too. But hey, with a girlfriend like that, she probably didn't get totally smashed, right? Lord William?"
The monster casually flung my master—who'd gone limp, drained of any strength to resist—onto the asphalt. She tumbled across the road a few times, then coughed up blood. She tried to stand for a moment, but her body just spasmed and she collapsed again. The thing found the sight hilarious, clapping with its spindly metal arms while sneering.
"Anyway, looks like this wraps things up. There were a few surprises, but nothing major. So, how was the game of hide-and-seek? Fun?"
I didn't answer. The monster didn't seem to care, prattling on regardless.
"I get it, must be a shock. 'Damn, even with the latest ACS model and an alpha-grade superhuman, I got wrecked—turns out the world's no joke~' I'd think the same if I were you."
Like a bird puffing up its feathers, the monster spread its arms, tentacles, and fan-like panels wide in a showy display. Much of it was sliced, scorched, and ragged, but it still exuded that grotesque majesty. Clearly, it loved its massive, hideous bulk.
"Thing is, what can you do? I was made to take on the Scream Harvester. They were just a bit weak by comparison, so don't take it too hard. Hahaha!"
"You fucking bird...!"
I grabbed my assault rifle and unloaded into its face. These were armor-piercing rounds meant for modders, but the monster didn't even bother blocking. I fired the EMP launcher next, chucked grenades wildly—knowing full well it wouldn't work, but thrashing anyway. Pathetic stress relief, I knew, but my body wouldn't listen.
The monster swatted every shot with its tentacles or blocked with a force field. Most grenades didn't even get close.
"Hahaha—haha—HAHAHAHAHA!"
The creepy laugh didn't come from speakers—it poured from that tall, elongated beak, echoing like a sonic attack across the area. My eardrums felt like they were caving in.
I couldn't do a damn thing. Why? Why was I so powerless? The people who'd loved me, devoted themselves to me—they were lying there broken and humiliated, and I couldn't even twitch. Was I really worth the sacrifice? Maybe as Elson's heir, but William Wentworth? No.
Was all my so-called revenge just me biting off more than I could chew, dragging the people I loved—and who loved me—into danger...?
The monster finished laughing and turned its head toward me.
"Hahaha...! Don't worry too much, though. Born a noble's kid, you'll probably just get house arrest or something."
Acting all magnanimous. In the end, all I'd have left was the status my bloodline handed me.
The monster, done chattering, glanced around. It pointed one pair of arms at Bell and another at my master where they lay collapsed.
"Oh, but those two? No noble blood, so no guarantees. Still, they've got uses—won't kill 'em. Maybe preserve their mind-maps as specimens, or mod them into bioweapons..."
"...!"
My eyes snapped wide. Blood raced through me; my breath quickened. Spotting my obvious agitation, the monster lowered its voice to a whisper.
"So, where's the Heart? Can't tell if you have it or that tin can. Hand it over, and... well, I might show a little mercy."
Its long, serpentine body writhed as it slithered closer. The scraping of its massive bulk over the asphalt grated on my nerves. It stopped within reach, extending a bony arm from a height I had to crane my neck for—like it was begging for something.
No doubt this was a threat.
But... the Heart? I couldn't help but wonder.
They weren't just after Elson's securities? The Heart—precisely, the Oc E No Heart—was the true legacy my father had left me personally. When I was caught in that terrorist attack, teetering on death's door, he'd acquired companies, invested relentlessly, and created this gift through sheer effort. And they wanted this before the securities?
"You want this, huh...?"
I stripped off my gear and shirt, opened the chest paneling, and pulled out the core of my artificial heart, holding it up for the monster to see.
If I'd read it right, the monster scowled in dissatisfaction.
"What kind of joke is this? You know damn well I don't mean your drive engine."
"No, this is it. This is the Heart Father left me."
"Hm...?"
Still skeptical, but I explained slowly. "The Heart isn't some complete machine—it's the name of its core component, the power source. Like a pun: the heart within the heart."
"Ah, got it. Can't take it right now, then. Just come quietly and—"
"Who said I'm giving it to you?"
All six of its eyes twitched. Pissed off, it extended multiple pairs of arms to seize it right there.
I... decided to gamble.
The Heart was essentially a shackle, from what I'd heard. It sealed away an unknown energy I couldn't control yet, one I burned like fuel in place of life force.
The monster made it sound like it'd spare Bell and my master if I handed it over. But that was bullshit even it didn't believe. Hell, did it even have the authority?
I needed power. Uncontrollable, locked away—but just for one moment to smash that thing. Shamelessly, I prayed to gods I didn't believe in: give me strength to evacuate my people to safety, just for that long.
Its appendages were almost on me. I gripped the Heart tight and crushed it completely.
Then I blacked out.
Climidocampus. One of Anastasis's top weapons—and the mind of the intel hacker piloting it—found itself speechless at the scene before it.
Elson's heir had dramatically extracted his artificial organ, claimed it was the Heart, smashed it in front of him, and collapsed.
Suicide? Motives unclear. But it confirmed: what William held was the real Heart.
For that split second, the pure power bursting from that tiny machine... immense, even making him shudder in awe.
And he knew the type. The same unknown energy wielded by that greatsword mercenary he'd just crushed—or his nemesis, the Scream Harvester.
But this was on another level. If theirs was reflected moonlight from superhumans, this was a sliver of the sun itself, minuscule but blinding.
He could guess why the company craved the Heart as much as Elson's securities. Anastasis, a direct beneficiary of the fusion event, was obsessed with this kind of power and tech.
"Smashed to hell, but... I don't think that one burst was all. I can still feel it."
He snatched the crushed engine and inspected it—no anomalies. Whatever had been stored inside was gone.
Yet he still sensed traces of that power nearby. Only one explanation.
"Did this worm absorb it? Just lost consciousness because his mind couldn't keep up?"
Not reassuring. He couldn't rule out getting reversed.
The machine lifeform gathered tentacles into spear-like points and aimed at William—enough to pierce a car clean through. No full-body modder would survive.
"Hrm..."
But the strike halted just before piercing William's chest. Not mercy—greed stayed his hand.
Climidocampus recalled one prior moment: just before entering this colossal metal body, meeting the top boss—the chairman.
The awe from then mirrored what the Heart evoked. And suddenly, he needed this power.
With a bony arm, he seized William's motionless, corpse-like body. He extended his long beak to within inches.
If it were human, it'd be panting, swallowing hard.
If I devour this body... can I absorb the power dwelling within?
Nothing to lose. He gaped his beak wide to engulf William whole—for the spectacle.
But William never toured its maw and guts.
A flash—BOOM!
"G-gaaah—GRRAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Scream or shriek from the machine lifeform echoed out. Reflexively, it hurled what it held, clutching its charred, melting beak.
Regaining wits, it glared with its triple compound eyes, searching for Elson's heir.
No need to hunt. Blinding light—enough to swallow the area—engulfed him.
Surrounded by golden-orange particles, William slowly opened his glowing blue eyes.